Kabal
Archon leads his Kabal on a raid against an Imperial world's defenders.]] A Kabal of the Drukhari is an autonomous organisation somewhere between a criminal cartel, a pirate fraternity and a noble household. Though forever set at each other's throats, the Kabals form the primary military strength of the Dark City of Commorragh, and are largely responsible for the constant flow of slaves upon which the Dark City feeds and depends for its people's continued survival. The Kabals occupy the upper tiers of Commorragh's power structure, defining the martial aspect of the Drukhari and maintaining a stranglehold on all aspects of the Dark City. Even the most minor Kabals consist of hundreds of Dark Eldar, though their territories may be confined to hidden locations and scattered hideouts. The largest Kabals comprise millions of skilled Kabalite Warriors. The baleful influence of these monstrous coalitions stretches from one side of the galaxy to the other, plaguing lesser civilisations and inferior intelligent races with slave raids and acts of blood-soaked piracy. History Genesis of the Kabals Drukhari society once revolved around a small number of Aeldari noble houses. The scions of these aristocratic institutions plumbed the depths of hedonism that led to the Fall. The Commorrite nobility jealously guarded their positions, seeking out and killing any who threatened them or questioned their primacy. The central mass of Commorragh -- a mind-boggling metropolis of skyscrapers, archshrines, palatial spires and pleasure temples -- was the province of the noble houses alone. Entry could be gained only by birthright, and elitism was a way of life. So it was for several millennia after the Fall of the Aeldari. The society of Commorragh remained as stagnant and corrupt as its ancient masters. In all likelihood it would have continued to do so indefinitely, had it not been for a young warrior-slave by the name of Asdrubael Vect, who brought the old order of the nobility crashing down. Vect's own warrior-clique -- or "Kabal" -- had prepared for their founder's ascension, seeding their agents into every aspect of Dark Eldar civilisation throughout Commorragh and beyond. In the wake of Vect's uprising, the fickle Drukhari adopted the Kabalite system with an enthusiasm born of self-preservation. Sensing which way the wind was blowing, even the surviving Drukhari noble houses reinvented themselves as Kabals in their own right, though in their hearts they still covet the notion of their inherent superiority. Yet none can deny that the Kabalite system has gone from strength to strength. Power is no longer inherited in Commorragh, it must be fought for and taken by force. The authors of the Dark City's fate are those who wield the sharpest minds and blades alike, the precarious nature of their position ensuring complacency can never take root. Order from Anarchy ]] In a society as treacherous as that of the Drukhari, a single power-hungry individual soon makes enemies. It is never long before the loner finds a dagger at his throat or feels nerve-searing poison flowing through his veins. Only those affiliated to larger organisations enjoy any degree of security; there is safety in numbers, they say, and even in the shadow-haunted twilight realms of the Dark City this remains true. To kill a Kabalite is to commit a hostile action against an entire Kabal. Regardless of status, sect or species, few Commorrites are prepared to make such an influential enemy without good reason, and those who do must ensure they have powerful friends of their own to protect them against the inevitable vicious retribution. Competition for Kabalite membership is beyond fierce, despite the varied and often violent initiation rites that must be undergone. The constant supply of fresh aspirants means that the Kabals themselves enjoy a kind of loose immortality. Each has the might to make its displeasure keenly felt should it be threatened or slighted. It is unusual for an entire Kabal to be wiped out altogether. Only the Supreme Overlord Asdrubael Vect can visit such a fate upon his enemies without triggering city-wide outrage or inviting punitive violence on a massive scale. Yet Vect ensures that Commorragh is eternally riven by gang warfare, and not a single night goes past in the Dark City without the streets echoing to running battles between Kabalite factions -- the Archons of the Kabals do not care for the notion of peers. The Kabals at War s from different Kabals engage in a bloody combat]] Though all Drukhari Kabals offer a measure of sanctuary -- from outside influences, at least -- the true prize for the established Kabalite is to take part in a realspace raid. The war with the material dimension is a never-ending campaign of extreme violence against every other sentient race in the galaxy. A successful raid offers the victors not only the twin bounties of slaves and a feast of pain, but will also do much for the political standing of those who planned and executed it. As such, successful realspace raids are one of the most straightforward ways in which a Drukhari Kabal can rise to prominence over its rivals. The largest and most well-respected Kabals launch raids on an almost constant basis, their sleek attack craft descending upon one hapless world after another to plunder and enslave. It is extremely rare for an Archon to commit the warriors of his Kabal to a battle he has not already meticulously planned. Kabals employ countless spies, mercenaries and informers whose task it is to scout out potential raiding sites in exhaustive detail. Further, the Covens of the Haemonculi can be prevailed upon to provide stranger means of surveillance, be it Whisperglass Mirrors, flocks of invisible familiars or parasitically-invested abductees. These services always come at a price, of course, yet a successful realspace raid will normally justify the cost of such bargains tenfold. Once a raid is launched, Kabalite forces will work to keep the foe on the back foot at all times, using superior technology and local knowledge torn from the minds of captives to stay one step ahead of the enemy. Stand-up fights are never entered into voluntarily, for the warriors of the Kabals view concepts such as valour or honour as weaknesses to be exploited. Their raiding parties will strike hard and fast where the foe is at its most vulnerable, aiming to cripple command and control structures, undermine logistics and spread terror and confusion. Should an organised response coalesce, the Kabalites will simply fade away and attack elsewhere, aiming above all else to avoid being pinned down in a war of attrition. Ambush, trickery, the turning of foes against one another, and the bloody quest for personal glory -- such are the hallmarks of a Kabalite hunt. Many Kabals will have a bias towards particular methods of warfare, most often the product of their Archon's personal conceits or origins. Some, such as the spaceborne Kabal of the Severed, favour great wings of attack craft that shatter and scatter the strength of their victims before a single Drukhari foot touches alien soil. Others -- such as the Kabal of the Storm's Spite or the Kabal of the Bloody Scream -- favour the deployment of overwhelming firepower, fielding whole squadrons of Ravager gunships and murderous flocks of Scourge mercenaries who pick the foe apart from a distance. Conversely, a great many Kabals prefer to get in close, fighting where they can feel every hot splash of blood and hear every last rattling breath. Kabals such as the Shuddering Blade and the Silver Fang are especially well known for orchestrating such bloodbaths, and competition is fierce to accompany them to the field of battle. Perhaps the strangest of all are the Kabal of the Thirteenth Whisper, whose members keep their faces shrouded at all times and who are reputed to traffic heavily with the Mandrakes of Aelindrach. Raids by this Kabal are nightmarish affairs, tides of shadow proceeding their advance while chill-eyed horrors stalk the darkness with blades in hand. Hierarchy of a Kabal A Drukhari Kabal has a very strict hierarchy. In order from highest-ranking to least, these ranks include the following: Notable Dark Eldar Kabals Sources *''Black Crusade: Core Rulebook'' (RPG), pp. 344-345 *''Black Crusade: Game Master's Kit'' (RPG), pp. 14-15 *''Codex: Chaos Deamons'' (6th Edition), pg. 22 *''Codex: Dark Eldar'' (7th Edition), pp. 23-40, 90-91, 158-160 *''Codex: Dark Eldar'' (5th Edition), pp. 5, 26, 62, 89 *''Codex: Dark Eldar'' (3rd Edition, Revised), pg. 49 *''Codex: Dark Eldar'' (3rd Edition), pg. 10 *''Codex: Eldar'' (6th Edition), pg. 21 *''Codex: Space Marines'' (6th Edition), pp. 29, 38, 53, 64 *''Codex: Space Wolves'' (5th Edition), pg. 19 *''Codex: Tyranids'' (5th Edition), pg. 38 *''Dark Heresy: Enemies Without (2nd Edition) (RPG), pg. 111 *''Herald of Oblivion (A Path to Victory Gamebook) by Jonathan Green *''Only War: Core Rulebook'' (RPG), pg. 334 *''White Dwarf'' 271 (UK), pg. 56 *''Deathwing: Xenos Hunters'' (Anthology), "The Alien Hunters," by Andy Chambers *''Iron Harvest'' (Short Story) by Guy Haley *''Path of the Archon'' (Novel) by Andy Chambers *''Tantalus'' (Short Story) by Braden Campbell *[http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Dark_Eldar/DARK-ELDAR-TANTALUS.html Forge World - Tantalus] Gallery File:Baleful_Gaze_Icon.jpg|Icon of the Kabal of the Baleful Gaze File:Black_Myriad_Icon.jpg|Icon of the Kabal of the Black Myriad File:Kabal_of_Black_Heart_Icon.png|Icon of the Kabal of the Black Heart File:Broken_Sigil_icon.jpg|Icon of the The Broken Sigil File:Kabal_of_the_Last_Hatred_Icon.jpg|Icon of the Kabal of the Last Hatred File:Kabal_of_the_Obsidian_Rose_icon.png|Icon of the Kabal of the Obsidian Rose File:Kabal_of_the_Dying_Sun_Icon.jpg|Icon of the Kabal of the Dying Sun Symbol of the Flayed Skull.png|Icon of the Kabal of the Flayed Skull File:Kabal_of_Poisoned_Tongue_Icon.png|Icon of the Kabal of the Poisoned Tongue File:Lords_of_Iron_Thorn_Icon.jpg|Icon of the Kabal of The Lords of The Iron Thorn File:The_Severed_icon.jpg|Icon of the Icon of The Severed File:Kabal_of_The_Shadowed_Thorns.jpg|Icon of the Kabal of the Shadowed Thorns icon File:Kabal_of_the_Splintered_Talon.jpg|Icon of the Kabal of the Splintered Talon icon File:Kabal_of_Wraith_Kind_icon.jpg|Icon of the Kabal of the Wraithkind File:Kabal_of_the_Black_Heart.png|A Dark Eldar Kabalite Warrior of the Kabal of the Black Heart File:Kabal_of_the_Dying_Sun.png|A Kabalite Warrior of the Kabal of the Dying Sun File:Kabal_of_the_Flayed_Skull.png|A Kabalite Warrior of the Kabal of the Flayed Skull File:Kabal_of_the_Last_Hatred.png|A Kabalite Warrior of the Kabal of the Last Hatred File:Lords_of_the_Iron_Thorn.png|A Kabalite Warrior of the Lords of the Iron Thorn File:The_Broken_Sigil.png|A Kabalite Warrior of The Broken Sigil File:The_Severed.png|A Kabalite Warrior of The Severed File:Kabal_Baleful_Gaze.jpg|A Kabalite Warrior of the Kabal of the Baleful Gaze Bleaksoul Brethren.jpg|A Kabalite Warrior of the Kabal of the Bleaksoul Brethren Fiend Ascendant.jpg|A Kabalite Warrior of the Kabal of the Fiend Ascendant Thornlords Kabal.jpg|A Kabalite Warrior of the Kabal of the Lords of the Iron Thorn Obsidian_Rose_Kabal.jpg|A Kabalite Warrior of the Kabal of the Obsidian Rose Poisoned Tongue Kabal.jpg|A Kabalite Warrior of the Kabal of the Poisoned Tongue Slashed Eye.jpg|A Kabalite Warrior of the Kabal of the Slashed Eye Wraithkind.jpg|A Kabalite Warrior of the Kabal of the Wraithkind es:Cábala Category:K Category:Dark Eldar Category:Kabals